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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — a container
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com